vaccinated once the shot becomes widely available. >> we frontline workers have been working around the clock over the past nine months, sacrificing so much of what we do and love to take care of our patients. we've been doing this while trying to take care of our own families. >> we have to be sober and mindful about the moment we are in, which is challenging and trying. today we received as many doses in the entire state of california as there were new cases in the state of california. >> among the other frontline workers to receive their first doses of the vaccine, icu nurse helen cordova. everyone who was vaccinated today will get a second booster shot in 21 days. governor newsom said four california hospitals got their first shipments of the vaccine today. 24 more hospitals will get their doses tomorrow, and another 5 will receive shipments wednesday. one of the four hospitals to receive a shipment today, sf general.

>> nbc bay area's thom jensen, when will the hospitals start to administer the vaccine? >> reporter: that is still up in the air. we have not gotten any response from the hospital with that question yet. yes, 2,000 doses, just 2,000 arriving here at sf general today. a lot of relief from the frontline workers that were finally on the attack against this virus. but also a warning from public health officials not to let your guard down yet. the virus is everyone, and most of us won't even be eligible to get the vaccine for several months. confirmation that the first 2,000 bay area doses of the coronavirus vaccine arrived at san francisco general this morning also came with a sobering reminder from san francisco's top health official. >> it will be a long rollout and too late for this surge. >> reporter: public health director dr. grant colfax laying

out the bigger problem. just as the vaccines start coming in, icu capacity down to 7% statewide. >> and it doesn't appear that this downward trend will be changing anytime soon. >> reporter: dr. colfax now estimates san francisco could run out of icu beds in three weeks if the trend doesn't change. >> if things worsen, we will run out of beds sooner. >> reporter: among most frontline workers seeing the surge firsthand, there is little question about the safety of the vaccine. >> when it's my turn, i will happily receive it. >> reporter: dr. matthew kahn has been specializing in the immunity system since high school and then at harvard and duke medical school. now he's a fellow at ucsf, which expects to get 975 doses of the vaccine tuesday or wednesday. >> it's, you know, very, i think, inspiring to see the scientific and medical communities come together in the last couple months. >> reporter: he, like dr. colfax, urging people to

continue social distancing, wearing masks, and begging everyone to forgo large gatherings over the holiday season. >> our hope this week is that cases stabilize, but we do not know for sure that that will happen. >> reporter: san francisco is slated to get more than 12,000 doses of the vaccine this week according to a public health commission report, but still as we heard from dr. colfax, now is not the time to let your guard down. you must be vigilant. the virus is everywhere with the holidays just around the corner. we're live in san francisco, thom jensen, nbc bay area news. kaiser medical centers in the bay area also expected to receive their first doses of the vaccine. they're going to receive it on wednesday and thursday. you're looking at a vaccine storage freezer which was installed over the weekend. kaiser expects the first shipment to be limited.

it says the vaccine will be distributed according to cdc and state guidelines, and of course it will prioritize health care workers at the highest risk of exposure. okay. so it is great that the vaccine is arriving. unfortunately the coronavirus is surging. cases continue to be at a record high across the state. what you see behind me, 30,000 new cases confirmed, the third highest day of the pandemic, and this is a terrible number. positivity rate for us now at an all-time high of 10.5%. in santa clara county, 1,200 new cases confirmed. so thom was talking about icu beds, right? let's check about the availability in more detail about the bay area. so you can see here that marin, santa clara, and san mateo are all in those red zones, right? that means they have less than 15% beds available in the icu. solano, though, you can see over here, and contra costa are doing a little bit better. they're in the orange tier.

they've got about 20% beds. napa and alameda county, they're doing much better. they're in the yellow zone. that means they have more than 30% available icu beds. well, as santa clara county grapples with an unprecedented surge in new covid cases, it announced it's easing up on a travel restriction for people who come from out of town. nbc bay area's marianne favro has a look at the science behind these changes. >> reporter: county health leaders say effective immediately, if you've been exposed to someone with covid-19, you now only need to quarantine for 10 days instead of 14. just today, more than 1,200 new cases of covid reported in santa clara county, and health leaders now worry another surge is coming as people gather for christmas and the new year. >> i do still fear things are going to get worse before they get better. >> reporter: still today, assistant county health officer dr. sarah redman announced a reduction in quarantine

guidelines. >> this new guideline shortens the length of quantity from 14 days to 10 days from last exposure for people who remain asymptom attic. >> reporter: it also applies to people traveling into the county from over 150 miles away. dr. redman recommends anyone quarantining get tested on the sixth day after possible exposure. but with only 45 icu beds available in the entire county of 2 million people, why shorten the quarantine time? >> we feel the science that the cdc shared with us over the last several weeks confirmed by the california department of public health's review tells us there's a minimal loss to safety by making the change from 14 to 10 days while they're may be a benefit to getting folks back out in the workforce. >> reporter: earlier the cdc also revised its guidelines that people quarantine for 10 days instead of 14 if they have no symptoms. in san jose, marianne favro, nbc bay area news.

>> thank you, marianne. president-elect joe biden addressed the nation just a short time ago. this comes after today's vote in which the electoral college confirmed mr. biden's victory over president trump. the electoral college did its duty by confirming the popular vote. up next, congress will finalize the election on january 6. inauguration day is january 20th. a lot happening this evening, including a 19-year-old from the bay area, actually a student here, raj, part of history. what an amazing situation to be in for her. >> jessica, i love this story. this is her first time ever voting for a president. wouldn't you know she's essentially a supervoter. we're going to talk to her in just a moment. but first the president-elect, joe biden, talking about the flame of democracy. >> 306 electoral votes is the same number of electoral votes that donald trump and vice

president pence received when they won in 2016. excuse me. at the time, president trump called his electoral college tally a landslide. by his own standards, these numbers represented a clear victory then, and i respectfully suggest they do so now. if anyone didn't know before, they know now what beats deep in the hearts of the american people is this -- democracy. >> and there it is. very direct, in fact probably the most direct we've heard mr. biden since winning the election. look, it's the will of the people, and we, the people, have gone through a lot this year. here at home you're looking at the state capitol. what, about 40 million people in california, and we have 55 electors. those 55 votes went for biden and harris, and actually put them over the top in the 2:00 p.m. hour this afternoon. now, among the 55 electors -- and here she is -- 19-year-old

erin sturd vaunt. she graduated from piedmont hig high. her uncle is congressman harley rouda. she's the youngest member of the electoral college and is embr e embracing her opportunity. >> this has been happening every four years for so long, so it's amazing i got to be able do it and be a part of it. >> i think a lot of people are asking how did you get into this spot? you're 19 years old, and now you are one of 55 electoral voters in california. >> yeah, i'm representing harley rouda from the 48th district. he nominated me because i'm his niece and because i volunteer on his campaign and because i'm interested in political science. he knew this opportunity would be amazing. >> what are you going to tell your parents or your friends or family tonight? >> i mean that this was an honor and such a good experience to be a part of, and i'll remember it for the rest of my life. >> she's going to have a story

to tell for a lifetime. 19. on the other end of the spectrum, this is pretty cool also. also part of the vote today, 93-year-old former congressman from san mateo pete mccloskey. he sent us this photo from the capitol. so really a day flexing the muscle here of american politics and just the procedure of what we go through. by the way, as a civics lesson reminder for everyone, electors are part of the elector college, picked by members of congress. each member of congress gets to pick one. they're usually friends or family members or supporters of either party. guys, i'll send it back to you. >> very fascinating. thank you, raj. another white house shake-up this evening as attorney general bill barr announces he's resigning. he submitted his letter of resignation late today. as you remember, he was one of president trump's staunchest allies, but he does depart now amid tension over the president's baseless claims of election fraud and barr's public denial of that. president trump says deputy attorney general jeff rosen will become acting attorney general.

just into our newsroom, san francisco distribute attorney chesa boudin is charging a police officer for allegedly beating a black man last year. the d.a. says officer terrence stengel used excessive and unlawful force. it happened in october 2019 at fisherman's wharf. prosecutors say dakarai spires was on a date with his girlfriend when police got an a call about an assault. when they got there, officers saw spires and his girlfriend standing close together and talking. prosecutors say one officer ordered spires to turn around. the other officer then allegedly walked up behind spires and hit him with a baton. he suffered a broken leg and wrist. this marks the third criminal case the d.a. has filed against an sf police officer in less than a month. i'm chief meteorologist jeff ranieri. i'll show you how much rain and snow we picked up and details on more rain ahead coming up in about eight minutes. a coyote in contra costa

county linked to two separate attacks. how those attacks were tied together and what's being done now to try to find the animal responsible for attacking humans. ernest hemingway wrote the old man and the sea at 52

satchel paige was still dominating batters at 59. celia cruz was still winning grammys at 77 john wheeler illuminated our ideas of the universe at 70 and roger crouch was 56 when he first went into space your best is yet to come . we return to our race for a vaccine coverage. it's like putting a man on the moon. that's how doctors are describing this historic day. the first doses of the vaccine arriving at hospitals around the country. a critical care nurse in new york city was the first american to receive the injection. 145 other hospitals got their do doses today. as we mentioned, four of those hospitals right here in

california, and one in the bay area, sf general. another 600 hospital shz have their vaccines by wednesday. >> our war against the virus is not over yet, but this week we're taking a major step toward our eventual victory. >> 2.9 million doses of pfizer's vaccine are expected to be given out by the end of this year. hawaiian airlines is offering new testing options for people who want to go to hawaii. starting today, passengers traveling to hawaii from sjc will be offered drive-through covid tests. there is an on-site lab like this one. the cost, $90 and results are available within 36 hours. all visitors arriving to the hawaiian islands must self-quarantine for 14 days or show proof of a negative covid test. oakland and sfo also have covid testing facilities. the airline added the test to comply with hawaii's new testing protocol. a break in the case. wildlife trackers believe they have trapped a dangerous coyote which they say viciously attacked two people. they say dna samples from the wounds revealed it's the same

coyote. as nbc's jodi hernandez shows us, state wildlife officials are taking a bold step to try to protect people. a warning, some of the photos are a little graphic. >> reporter: this is where the latest attack happened, right here on the track of camp olin doe high school. state wildlife officials have been working nonstop to identify and capture the coyote. you're looking at the bite winds this man suffered during a coyote attack. he was doing pushups as part of his morning exercise routine on the track ten days ago when a coyote bit him unprovoked. >> there was a coyote latched onto to my left calf. i tried to shake him off. he didn't free up, so i had to punch him in the nose. >> reporter: california fish and wildlife officials collected saliva samples from sytz's pants and found a link to a july coyote attack on a boy at a nearby park.

>> doing a little bit more dna work, we managed to identify that one coyote was responsible for both attacks. >> reporter: for the past four nights, wildlife officials have been out trapping coyotes. while the first three weren't the one they were looking for, they captured a fourth one last night. they say protecting the public is crucial. >> with an animal that is causing that type of aggressive attack on people, that's something that we have to pay attention to. it's a threat to public safety. we have to remove that animal if we can. >> reporter: while coyote attacks are usually very rare, there have now been three in the bay area in a matter of months. in april, a coyote attacked and bit a 6-year-old girl at a dublin park. wildlife officials say they don't know why there's been a spike in cases but acknowledge more people are spending time outdoors this year. >> i hope they got the right one, yeah. we don't want to be fearful. >> reporter: people who exercise outside say they're being extra cautious, and sytz is hopeful the coyote that attacked him

won't get the chance to strike again. >> hopefully they find this one sooner than later. >> reporter: in moraga, jodi hernandez, nbc bay area news. a return of monster waves along the coastline, nbc bay area's skyranger flew over pacifica today. king tides combined with the high surf creating quite the show. check out these photos taken by savannah in pacifica. she tagged us on twitter. that's the chit chat cafe right next to the pacifica pier. there's a high surf advisory out until 7:00 tonight. let's get a check of our forecast with chief meteorologist jeff ranieri. we had mavericks going on last week, and now they're back, but it seems like it's only going to last today? >> a little bit into tomorrow morning and then we will see those waves calm down. we also have king tides factoring into some of that action. so those are the highest of high tides. we usually undergo king tides a couple of times a year, so it is

something that does happen here, but it is very dangerous if you are headed to the beach at any time for tonight or tomorrow morning. please be careful of that. we had that rainfall this weekend, and it was so nice to get some wet weather here to really just kind of clean things off, get the ground wet. we've had such high fire danger, and everybody did again get something. san jose with just over a half inch. oakland, three-quarters of an inch. santa rosa, over an inch. san francisco also over an inch. that was the most rain we have had in 333 days, way back since january the 16th. now, not only rain here but snow for the sierra. great on our snowpack. look at our numbers here. 17 inches at sierra at tahoe this past weekend. sugar bowl at 15 inches. so our season total right now is running four to about five feet on average. that's also good. but here's the deal. we have overall seen a lack of rainfall as we've been talking about. so our rain season is still down 2 1/2 to 6 1/2 inches.

we've got a lot to make up for. there's going to be more chances of rain this week. we'll get to that in a second, but i do want to start off with tomorrow morning. we'll have clouds return and some chilly 40s. if you have to head out anywhere tomorrow morning, maybe to the grocery store, make sure to take that jacket. you can leave the umbrella at home for now. 41 in the north bay. daytime highs tomorrow as those clouds linger, it will stay on the cool side. we're not going to warm up a whole lot. 58 in morgan hill. 60 in concord. 58 in napa. 56 san francisco and 59 in palo alto. rainfall coming in once we hit wednesday. now, as we roll through wednesday afternoon, best chances would remain off to the north of us. then as we roll through wednesday night, 10:00 p.m., you can see that rainfall starting to move into ukiah, also guerneville. again, 10:00 p.m. on wednesday. while most of us are sleeping, that's when we'll see that rainfall here. 2:00 in the morning, you'll see widespread rainfall moving back to the bay area with some heavier pockets as our cold front moves over. this will hang on to some

rainfall here at 6:00 in the morning right down towards the south bay. then we'll clear out from this system by 10:30 in the morning on thursday. that would also bring snow to the sierra. so it's another system with a half to three-quarters of an inch expected for the north bay. around a half inch for the east bay. for the south bay, a little bit less. we're looking at about 0.2 inch. what about that sierra snow? we're going for at least another foot at the higher elevations, so just what we need to keep that fire danger down. on my extended forecast, we'll then dry out friday, saturday, sunday, and also into next monday. 50s for highs in san francisco. really not that warm in san francisco or the inland valleys as well with upper 50s to low 60s over the next seven days. so no umbrella needed tomorrow but keep it handy on wednesday and thursday. kind of, sort of feels like december, jessica and janelle, with some rain in the forecast. >> yeah. stop and start, stop and start for sure. thank you, jeff. well, up next, this is

terrible. the iconic cliff house closing. what's going to go in its place? now that covid vaccinations have begun, we'll look at efforts to overcome skepticism about the shots. also our week-long look at teachers inspiring america. tonight the teacher who looked at the great outdoors to keep her kids together in the pandemic on "nightly news."

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it's hard to explain what depression feels like. but i can tell you what it feels like when someone offers to help. every plan through covered california is comprehensive - with mental health coverage and financial help for people who need it. enroll by december 15th. aloha, larry ellison, oracle's co-founder has left california and is making his permanent home in hawaii. ellison moved from chicago at age 22 here to the bay area and since then, california has been pretty good to him. he's one of the world's richest billionaires, and he hob knobs with governors, presidents. his company oracle announced it's moving from redwood city to texas. he bought the island of lanai in 2012 and owns most of the island, from the resorts to the newspaper. he still has a sprawling home in woodside, pacific heights, lake

tahoe, and malibu. for more than 150 years, san francisco's famous cliff house has wowed diners, tourists, and locals alike with its dramatic views, me included. it survived fires, wars, even the 1918 pandemic. but covid could be the game-changer. yesterday the couple that's operated the restaurant for decades said they can't reopen. they say the national park service told them the landmark st 's day as a restaurant are over. the park service says it will reopen to the public sometime after the pandemic. making it in the bay, always in need but never like this. today sacred heart community service hild its annual gift card event for families in need. due to the pandemic this year, the event is a drive-through. organizers say the need is overwhelming. resources are scarce. volunteers were unable to help out this year because of health precautions. only staff allowed on site.

organizers say this year is challenging in so many ways. >> we have never seen anything like this, though, and i know that people hearing that all over. but it's so true. families are really desperate right now. >> organizers say up to 30% of people in sunnyvale, for example, are being forced to skip meals during the pandemic. yosemite seeing some snow. we're going to share it with you when we come back. this year, xfinity internet gives you more options than a holiday dinner table. pick the speed that's right for you, with options faster than gig. and get reliable internet with top-notch coverage. plus, help keep your data safe and private with security included. no antlers on the table. how come you get to eat first?

get started with this great offer, or ask about our fastest speed, 2 gig up and down. switch today. about the covid-19 virus. it's real. and it's dangerous.

so, on behalf of all of us working on the front lines, please take it seriously. and while we don't yet have a cure or a vaccine, we do know how to keep you and your loved ones safe. wear a mask. wash your hands. stay six feet apart. do your best to stay out of crowded spaces. and get a flu shot, it's even more important this year. we can do this. if we do it together.

coming up tonight at 6:00, yes, the vaccine is officially here, but can your boss force you to get one to come back to work? we'll take a closer look at that story and more coming up at 6:00 right here. coming up next on "nightly news," from the assembly line to the arms of frontline workers. nbc gets an exclusive in-depth look at the steps it takes to get the pfizer vaccine out of the factory and into hospitals. lester holt joins us in about 30 seconds. finally tonight, yosemite has snow. >> yes, and it's a beautiful sight. the rain this weekend in the bay area brought a good amount of snow to the sierra, and some to the national park. check that out. beautiful sight. these pictures come from the cameras inside yosemite national park. snow blanketing the top of half dome there and a dusting at the

very top of el captain. >> it does look beautiful. that's going to do it for us. "nightly news" with lester holt is next, and then we'll be back at 6:00. >> can't wait to see you. bye. tonight is it the beginning of the end of the pandemic? the first covid vaccinations administered in the u.s. the most ambitious vaccination effort in the nation's history now under way. health care workers lining up to receive their shots. among the very first, a nurse on the front lines in new york city. her message, healing is coming. tonight inside the massive rollou mission, the vast network transporting millions of doses nationwide. the help arriving just as the u.s. surpasses a chilling milestone. 300,000 covid deaths